Bio Information: LED BIB Title: SENSIBLE SHOES (Cuneiform Rune 283)

Bio information: LED BIB Title: SENSIBLE SHOES (Cuneiform Rune 283)

Cuneiform publicity/promotion dept.: 301-589-8894 / fax 301-589-1819 email: joyce [-at-] cuneiformrecords.com (Press & world radio); radio [-at-] cuneiformrecords.com (North American radio) www.cuneiformrecords.com FILE UNDER: JAZZ

"We need bands like Led Bib to make the world safe for dangerous music." – Observer Music Monthly

"Like crossing the road in a reverie and being run over by a passing bus - but in a pleasing way" – Evening Standard

“Proof that groovy dirty jazz isn’t just the preserve of downtown New Yorkers” – BBC Radio 3

With a very loud blast of anarchic rock, a surge of euphoric jazz and an irrepressible burst of band laughter, the UK skronk-jazz-rock- punk-whatever quintet Led Bib release their fourth album on the USA label, Cuneiform. A tremendously popular act at home in the UK, where they regularly play large-scale festivals and concert halls (as well as playing the typical club gigs that all musicians play), Sensible Shoes is their first recording to be released outside of the UK. The record will be accompanied by a full UK and European tour throughout the spring and early summer of 2009.

Now fun may not be a word you expect to hear in relation to jazz, but it’s the addition of this playfulness that has over years seen Led Bib throw out any preconceptions and play for audiences who don’t consider themselves jazz fans or would not even necessarily know that they like jazz in the least. And would one really expect anything different from a group that originally named itself Lead Bib – which it claimed stood for the shield that dentists use to cover the body and protect their patients when giving them oral x-rays. Because of pronunciation errors by the public, the band changed the name’s spelling to Led Bib – thus linking itself inadvertently to the most successful rock band of all time, Led Zeppelin.

Fives years of friendship and playing together has seen the group of twenty-somethings, who all met at Middlesex University, move on from the shackles of their respective jazz music educations to a place where they embrace the risk of failure for the possibility of what could be. This has made their exciting live sets the stuff of gig-land legend. Led Bib is composed of Mark Holub (drums), Liran Donin (bass), Toby McLaren (Rhodes and piano) and fronted by two dueling alto sax players, Chris Williams and Pete Grogan.

In true Bib style, Sensible Shoes is awash with unusual ideas. It takes in a deranged waltz (“Yes, Again”), Tom and Jerry chases and calypso cheek (“Squirrel Carnage”) to more sensitive traditional jazz structures (“Early Morning”). There’s a resurrection of British electric music pioneer Delia Derbyshire’s ghost (2.4:1 (“still equals none”), an ode and a lament to Hewlett Packard (“Call Centre Labyrinth”), a reflective, very English, John Surman-style ballad (“Water Shortage”) and an epic closing track penned by Williams about a life begun in Edmonton, North London (“Zone 4”).

The record expresses the realities and dreams of life living in London, seen through the prism of the members' different cultural heritages from New Jersey to Israel to Edmonton. The musicians individual references peer out from the record through the likes of Metallica-like riffs, Northern Soul licks, New York Downtown-sound influenced improvisation and beyond.

Says bandleader Holub: “It’s a coming of age album for us. It’s not overly intellectual or conceived. On the earlier records, we thought more about how each improvisation might go, but in this record we wanted to go into it really freely, like we do live. This record is our natural sound, embracing all our ideas and influences, with as little weight of tradition as possible.”

Last year saw Led Bib play packed London and North Sea Jazz Festival shows, and an abundance of press superlatives were poured upon their limited edition live album. Across the globe, recognition grew, including all the way to the United States where Cuneiform Records (home to renegade jazz-and-beyond music from all over the globe, including The Claudia Quintet, Hugh Hopper, Soft Machine, Cosmologic, Brotherhood of Breath, Planeta Imaginario, Positive Catastrophe, Wadada Leo Smith, Curlew, Steve Lacy- Roswell Rudd, Gutbucket, the Microscopic Septet and much more...) knew their reputation, loved their work and happily signed them up for this release.

The group’s new album, packed with more attacks of rock fury and improvising, is set to blow new minds and push further into uncharted territory. With a tour penciled into their calendars too, Jazzwise’s words have never been more pressing: “Alert your fire brigade now!”

[press release & band bio by Led Bib 2009] ------

For more information, please see: www.ledbib.com www.myspace.com/ledbib

LED BIB BAND BIO:

Led Bib was formed in 2003 by drummer/composer Mark Holub as part of his MA project at Middlesex University in North London. The group’s first show was on Feb. 24, 2004 (!Coincidentally? Holub’s birthday). After various line-up changes, December 2004 saw the formation of Led Bib’s final lineup: Holub (drums), Liran Donin (bass), Toby McClaren (Fender Rhodes and piano) and Chris Williams and Pete Grogan (alto sax). After a year of frequent gigging throughout London, in May 2005 the group released its first album, called Arboretum, on SLAM Productions, a British label run by George Haslam. The album, which contained original works as well as Erik Satie compositions, received widespread critical acclaim, bringing the band higher visibility and opening doors to gigs beyond London. Led Bib embarked on its first UK tour. The band went on to win the 2005 Peter Whittingham Jazz Award, an annual award for “cutting-edge jazz” given to a UK jazz group under age 26 “showing great talent and innovation in this field”; previous Whittingham winners included Soweto Kinch, Tom Arthurs and Mark Lockheart. The money from the award enabled Led Bib to set up the 2006 ‘Dalston Summer Stew’ festival at London’s Vortex Jazz Club, at which Led Bib played alongside such premiere UK contemporary jazz musicians as Matthew Bourne, Pinski Zoo and Iain Ballamy. It also enabled the band to begin recording a second CD.

In 2006/2007, Led Bib signed to the British jazz label, Babel, and embarked on an intensive/extensive touring schedule in both the UK and, for the first time, Europe. When Babel released the band’s second album, Sizewell Tea, in May ’07, it rocketed the group into a new level of awareness. Like Arboretum, it featured originals and a ‘cover’ – this time, of David Bowie’s “Heroes”. A string of high profile concerts followed suit: Led Bib represented Britain at the 12 Points festival in Dublin, at which twelve leading contemporary jazz groups represented twelve different European Union countries. Other notable concerts including the reopening event for Royal Festival Hall, and a one hour live session on BBC Radio 3, followed by a flurry of shows at such leading venues as Queen Elizabeth Hall, Pizza Express Soho (Dean St.), North Sea Jazz Festival (July 2008), Wiesen Jazz Festival, and other festivals across Europe. Indeed, Led Bib have proven themselves to be formidable and indefatigable performers, performing at most of England’s major clubs and at numerous jazz festivals in both the UK and Europe, including the London Jazz Festival, Ether 08 Festival (London, May 2008), Coventry Jazz Festival (May 2008), and many more.

In 2008, Led Bib self-released Led Bib Live, their third recording and only live release, as a limited edition EP. Despite not even being available in the shops, the live recording received widespread critical acclaim. Later in 2008, Led Bib signed to the US label, Cuneiform, to release its fourth recording. The following spring, Led Bib played at the FuseLeeds09 Festival, the Leeds, England festival devoted to bringing together the international vanguard of jazz, world, classical and popular music.

Cuneiform released Led Bib’s 4th album, Sensible Shoes, in May 2009. Even before its official release date, the CD began to acquire impressingly positive reviews from the British jazz press, who had eagerly anticipated its release. In celebration of its new Cuneiform release, Led Bib will do an extensive UK tour. It also hopes to tour internationally. With its first CD released outside England, Led Bib is primed for wider exposure on the international stage of contemporary jazz.

LED BIB TOUR SCHEDULE: SPRING/ SUMMER 2009

20 May 2009  Album Launch!!!!!! @ The Arts Theatre Club Soho, London, England 8 June 2009 Stereo, Glasgow, Scotland www.theorchestrapit.com www.theartstheatreclub.com www.stereocafebar.com 22 May 2009 Paradox Jazz Club Tilburg, The Netherlands 9 June 2009 The Mint Lounge, Manchester, England www.paradoxtilburg.nl www.mintlounge.com 23 May 2009 Bimhuis, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 10 June 2009 Cardiff Jazz Festival www.bimhuis.nl @ Dempsey's, Cardiff, Wales 4 June 2009 Norwich Arts Centre, Norwich, England www.myspace.com/dempseysjazz www.norwichartscentre.co.uk 11 June 2009 The Yardbird Birmingham, England 5 June 2009 Bath Fringe Festival, Bath, England www.myspace.com/theyardbirdbirmingham www.bathfringe.co.uk 12 June 2009 Taylor John’s House Coventry, England 6 June 2009 The Bluecoat Liverpool, England www.thetinangel.co.uk www.thebluecoat.org.uk 24 June 2009 The Vortex London, England 7 June 2009 The Jazz Bar, Edinburgh, Scotland www.vortexjazz.co.uk www.thejazzbar.co.uk

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PROMOTIONAL PHOTOS: (credit for all: Matt Crossick)

DIGITAL [HIGH-RESOLUTION / COLOR] VERSIONS OF THESE IMAGES AND OTHERS ARE AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD ON WWW.CUNEIFORMRECORDS.COM IN THE “PRESS” SECTION.

SELECTED QUOTES ABOUT LED BIB:

What the press has said thus far about SENSIBLE SHOES (Cuneiform: 2009) “…there is a satisfying homogeneity about this album, a feeling that the band has stepped back from its music to see what it has created in the past few years, identified, then played to, its strengths. These include, above all, a wholehearted commitment to wildly energetic, fiercely joyous mutual interaction (otherwise known as making a filthy racket); dynamic versatility…; and a scrupulous attention to texture and timbre… Overall, …this is a blast, in all senses of the word.” – Vortex Jazz, www.vortexjazz.co.uk

“With Sensible Shoes, Led Bib nail that sense of playfulness that has so far eluded them in the studio. Almost certainly this year’s token jazz Mercury Prize nominee. And it deserves to win too, if joy and delight count for anything. Rating: 4/5” – Al Brownlee, City Life, citylife.co.uk

“…London-based anarcho-musicalists Led Bib are like a wake-up call from an air-raid siren. Punk, electronica, heavy metal and pure noise all vie for ear space…and the effect is like one of those cartoon fights with arms and legs protruding from a raging dust cloud. Their two previous studio outings…failed to capture the quintet's raw live sound. This time… the results have a remarkable vitality.” – Cormac Larkin, Irish Tribune, www.tribune.ie

“They come roaring out of your iPod, give your eardrums a clattering and tread all over your furniture… Rarely Rave two saxes, keyboards, bass and drums sounded so dangerous yet so compelling. 4/5 stars” – Stuart Nicholson, The Observer

What the press has said about LED BIB LIVE (limited edition self-release: 2008): “A whole range of new colours and harmonies have been woven into the originals, and their headlong rush is inflected with unexpected turnings and digressions - though interestingly this multiplies the energy, rather than lessening it." – The Telegraph

"Sun Ra didn't die in vain" – The Times

“…an electrified 21st century Fire Music.” – Daniel Spicer, Jazzwise

What the press has said about SIZEWELL TEA (Babel: 2007): “…If you don't go near jazz because it just isn't damned noisy enough, and seems to have petered out after the pre-punk free jazz ideological furies of the Sixties and Seventies, then come back to life to try the deliciously uncivil new Led Bib album, Sizewell Tea. Led Bib sound like they could have coped supporting '61 Sun Ra, '66 Beefheart, and even '69 Led Zep. Led Bib are jazz, though, through and through, crammed with horn and blast, and as much swing as sweat” – Paul Morley, Observer Music Monthly

"It is accessible yet never watered down; Led Bib's cover of David Bowie's “Heroes” is a shape-shifting beast and a snazzy conclusion to this big-city blast. 4 Stars" – Arwa Haider, Metro

"The London-based quintet's second album is a blast of mischievous energy from start to finish...it's only fitting that the album's big finale is a gloriously warped rock-out rendition of David Bowie's 'Heroes' - a signal that these young heroes are going to carry on doing exactly what they feel like doing for the foreseeable future. 4 Stars" – Daniel Spicer, Jazzwise

"...album number two turns towards the spookier end of jazz, although this features a version of David Bowie’s 'Heroes', deliciously mutilated across a nine-minute voyage through swing, hard bop and free improv. 4 Stars" – John Lewis, Uncut

"So the race is on to find this year’s Polar Bear or Acoustic Ladyland – the next punky jazz outfit with a cool name and rock ’n’ roll attitude to snaffle a Mercury nomination. Drummer Mark Holub’s blistering outfit certainly have all the moves: punk energy, hard-blowing horns and a dynamite live show." – Kerstan Mackness, Time Out

"They represent a new generation of jazz musicians, blessed with the technical know-how of a music college degree and the sexiness of rock n' roll." – Blues and Soul

What the press has said about Led Bib’s live shows: "...a blast of full-on collective improvisation of the sort that has made the band such a sought-after attraction, their two horns wailing, bass pumping, keyboards constantly embellishing the band sound, the whole driven by the indefatigable, restless, supremely inventive drumming of leader Mark Holub." Chris Parker, (review of April 10th gig at the Vortex)

"...with a raucous mix of punk and jazz, played with an in-your-face irreverence and wit; this was high-energy scorched earth, with fierce blowing from saxophonists Chris Williams and Pete Grogan in an ensemble characterised by leader Mark Holub's combustible drumming." Ray Comiskey, Irish Times (review of Led Bib at 12 Points Festival, Dublin)

"Splattering you against the wall with their broadsides of punk-jazz" – John Fordham, The Guardian

Miscellaneous: "Like crossing the road in a reverie and being run over by a passing bus - but in a pleasing way" – Richard Godwin, Evening Standard

“A sonic adventure to savour.” – Robert Shore, The Metro

“One of ‘25 Live Acts you MUST see this Summer” (placing above Bjork, The White Stripes and The Arctic Monkeys) – Observer Music Monthly

”Gritty, raunchy jazz from a group who deserve to be checked out.” – The Wire

"Anyone intrigued by the sonic possibilities explored by Ladyland and Polar Bear or the leading lights of the New York Downtown scene should check it out.” – The Scotsman

"We need bands like Led Bib to make the world safe for dangerous music." – Stuart Nicholson, Observer Music Monthly